mind. >> we remember the victims and begin a new national conversation this morning. and good morning, everyone. i'm rob nelson. >> i'm sunny hostin, paula faris is on assignment. we begin with the latest. from the tragedy in sandy hook. there will be fresh grief as the first funerals are held for the victims. two little boys, jack pinto and noah pozner will be remembered. >> president obama spoke of their loss and the others at a vigil last night. saying we, as a nation, cannot tolerate this kind of violence anymore. we're learning new details about the shooter himself, adam lanza, and how he managed to carry out his deadly massacre. we begin with coverage from abc's tahman bradley. >> he joins us live from newtown where the grieving will take a more private turn later today. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: sunny and rob, good

morning to you. today is going to be another tough day for this heartbroken community. funerals will begin today and tomorrow. for some of the victims. and last night's prayer vigil, visited by president obama, is something that this community and the country will not soon forget. >> olivia. josephine. >> reporter: the more than 900 mourners who packed newtown high school heard an emotional president obama admit the country has failed them. >> since i have been president this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by mass shootings. >> reporter: he said he'll use the power of the presidency to stop tragedies like the massacre of 26 children and adults at sandy hook elementary school. >> these tragedies must end. to end them, we must change. >> reporter: outside the vigil where president obama spoke, an

emotional reaction from a shattered community to the president's visit. >> it was very touching and to -- it did mean a lot. >> we have to protect the kids. like he said, that's how we'll be judged. >> reporter: new and chilling details about gunman adam lanza's path through is the school have emerged. according to the governor of connecticut, the rampage ended ten minutes after it began when the gunman heard wailing sirens approaching while he was in the second classroom, and she shot himself once in the head. >> we surmise it was during the second classroom episode he heard responders coming and apparently, that, had decided to take his own life. >> reporter: new clues about the 20-year-old shooter. computers and videos were removed from the lanza family home this weekend that could provide clues into his motive. friends of adam's murdered mother, nancy, say she was increasingly concerned about her son's behavioral issues over the last few months. >> i think it was just getting difficult for her to try to get him into regular life.

>> reporter: all of the schools in the area are closed today. students from sandy hook elementary school will resume classes at a neighboring school in a matter of days. rob and sunny? >> in a tragedy like this, it's so important to try to remember the victims, perhaps, more than the gunman here. but we have learned some more about adam lanza, correct? >> reporter: that's exactly right. abc news has learned that adam lanza and his mother visited an area gun range. investigators are trying to determine whether or not he shot there, learned how to shoot at the gun range. now, investigators have been canvassing local gun ranges and local gun dealers to find out if lanza tried to purchase guns there and whether or not he was a shooter. he carried multiple 30-round magazines and two handguns into the school and a rifle was found in his car in the parking lot. rob and sunny? >> abc's tahman bradley reporting from newtown, connecticut, thank you.

as the nation struggles to come to grips with this horrific tragedy, we're learning more about those who lost their lives. >> david muir has some of the personal snapshots just emerging. >> reporter: a song from one of the little girls who did not survive. ana was just 6. her father, a jazz musician. sitting here beside her brother. >> one, two, three, ready and go. ♪ come now almighty king ♪ help us guide and to see >> reporter: her brother was also in that school. he survived. here, practicing a song with her parents. ♪ amen >> reporter: in the end, flashing her smile. we're also learning more about emilie parker. who was 6. she would often carry with her markers and crayons to draw pictures for people she thought were sad. this community, so moved by her

father, who bravely described his little girl and his loss. >> she was the type of person that could light up a room. she, um -- she always had something kind to say about anybody. >> reporter: he spoke of the parents of the other 19 children, olivia was just learning the rosary and would lead her family in grace every night before dinner. jesse was learning to ride horseback and was looking forward to his father coming to school on friday to watch him make a gingerbread house. catherine and her beautiful red hair. grace mcdonnell, whose grandmother said grace loved playing dressup, loved wearing grandma's jewelry. and the principal, dawn hochsprung is believed to have turn on the the p.a. in the chaos, to warn the other teachers. now it's believed she headed straight toward the gunman, toward the sound of gunfire to save the students. mary sherlock, the school psychologist, right there with her.

the teacher's aides, rachel and anne marie. and teacher lauren rousseau, whose father said she died with her little kids. and victoria soto, whose family said it was clear when she was found that she was trying to shield her first grade students. >> and there's kids now that will be able to say that they're here today because she sacrificed her life so they could live another day. >> reporter: david muir, abc news, newtown, connecticut. >> what a moment for that father to stand up to the mikes and address the world like that. incredibly nowerful, the strength he had to do that. schools around the country are reviewing school security. administrators have pledged to have extra police and guidance counselors on hand as students return to the classroom for the first time since the shooting. >> two school districts in pittsburgh have been given special permission to arm their security guards in light of the shooting. and with guns now at the center of so much debate, some facts here. on black friday, the fbi did background checks on more than

154,000 purchases of firearms. in november alone, americans tried to buy 2 million guns. the u.s. has more gun dealers and stores than supermarkets, even mcdonald's. hard to imagine that. more than 200 million guns in all on the streets of america. one group that has been silent since the connecticut shootings has been the gun lobby itself, the national rifle association. the usually social media-savvy nra hasn't tweeted or posted anything on its facebook page since friday. the facebook page was taken down a day after it boasted of reaching 1.7 million likes. >> deafening silence perhaps. coming up, what to tell your children as they go back to school today. and the morning's other news today. signs of progress as we get closer and closer to what seems like big news last week, the fiscal cliff. and kate middleton steps out for the first time since being

hospitalized. stay with us. hospitalized. stay wit

♪ ♪ in brookfield, wisconsin, the sikh temple, still reeling from its own mass shooting held a prayer vigil for victims in newtown last night. six people were killed there when a gunman burst into that temple and opened fire last august. unfortunately more gun violence news to bring you this morning. the topeka, kansas, police force is in mourning this morning after two of its officers were gunned down. >> both men were shot in the head when they responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle outside a grocery store. and now there's an intense manhunt for the suspect, believed to be a 22-year-old man.

in suburban chicago, police surrounded a home depot as they searched for two men who robbed another store earlier. they say the armed robbers wore ski masks when they entered a nearby radio shack and took equipment and cash. a police dog then followed their trail to the home depot. also, shoppers at a southern california mall ran for cover after a gunman opened fire there over the weekend. police say the shooter got off 50 shots into the air and on the ground before laying his gun down and simply giving up. investigators say he was apparently unhappy about his life and the shooting was a way of letting off some steam. thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. there are reports of progress in the fiscal cliff talks. sources say house speaker john boehner is now willing to consider a tax increase for those making more than $1 million a year. in return for spending cuts and reforms. both sides are expressing optimism a deal can be made before tax rates go up and

automatic spending cuts kick in two weeks from today. kate middleton is clearly feeling a lot better. she made her first public appearance since being released from the hospital for the severe morning sickness. >> the royal mother to be was a presenter last night at the bbc sports personality of the year awards. after more than a week at rest, she looked energetic, healthy, and strong. when we come back, our top story. the tragedy at sandy hook. we'll hear remarkable comments about the only survivor from one classroom. and back to school. what to tell your kids as they head to class today. we'll be right back. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] with free package pickup from the u.s. postal service the holidays are easy. visit usps.com. pay, print, and have it picked up for free before december 20h for delivery in time for the holidays.

you can even give us special instructions on where to find it. free package pickup. from the u.s. postal service. because it's nice to have an extra pair of hands around for the holidays. hello? [ sea ] hi! this is the sea calling. when's the last time you visited me? when i went surfing. i love to surf. can you imagine surfing in the middle of me? in the middle of you? oh yes! [ giggles ] nice moves! ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] our biggest december sales event ever. going on now. call 1-800-royal-caribbean.

[ tylenol bottle ] me too! and nasal congestion. [ tissue box ] he said nasal congestion. yeah...i heard him. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. it will be another very somber day in newtown,

connecticut, as funeral services begin today for two young victims. that follows the president's emotional visit last night to the town. he met privately with family members who lost loved ones. >> the principal's daughter sent a picture of the president cradling her daughter. she sent a tweet saying that my mom would be so prude to see the president holding my daughter, but not as proud as i am of her. the president then spoke. >> there have been almost daily reports of victims, in small towns and big cities across america. vick chims whose much of time, their only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. we can't tolerate this anymore. >> as the president read the first name of each young vick testimony out loud, there were

audible sobs and cries. a first grader from sandy hook is the sole survivor from her class. >> she had to play dead before she could get away. >> lara spencer spoke with the pastor counseling the girl's family. >> you have a parishoner who was there. >> she ran out of the billing covered in blood from head to toe, and the first words to her mom were, mommy, i'm okay, but all of my friends are dead. >> was she the only clild in that class who survived? >> yes. of those left in the classroom, she was the lone survivor. >> what did she tell her mom? what did she see in there? >> she saw someone she felt was

angry and somebody she felt was very mad. >> how, at 6 1/2 years old, can you be that smart, that brave? >> think it's impossible outside of divine intervention. she has wisdom beyond her years. >> how are the mom and dad doing? >> think as well as you can expect them to do? >> may must be relieved to have their charld, but on the other hand, so many feelings. >> the mom told me that she was suffering from what she called survivor's guilt. because so many of her friends no longer have their children. but she has hers. >> one survivor out of 16. for parents of young children, the question for days. how in this situation, what do you tell your kids? >> earlier this morning, i talked to dr. harold koplewicz.

i asked what age do you start to talk to your children? >> think it depends on the particular child. the rule of thumb is 5 years of age. one of the things we like is for parents to break the news to the kids. say something terrible happened in a school very far away. not so far away. and because this terrible thing happ happened, where kids were very badly hurt, school is going to be safer now. there will be more precautions at school. take the cue from the child. >> what about the child that is afraid to go back to school on monday morning? >> think it's very important they go back to school. that means you have to reassure them, you have to tell them about the safety of their -- your school, how rare these events are. if necessary, you're going to change your schedule around and drive your child to school or walk your child to school, because it's really important that we want to model resilience and we want our children to be

resilient. we don't want to destabilize them by this. we don't want this terrible toechbt have more negative events on children who won't go to school. getting back to school and into the routine is one of the best things. >> what did you tell your kids? >> i have a first grader. i didn't tell the 6-year-old anything. i spoke to the 10-year-old. i said this is rare, it's happened. it's a terrible tragedy. and he's safe. and i'm always here to discuss with him whatever issues he wants to talk about. >> show them the love and assure them of safety. that helps. well, in washington, gun control advocates held a vigil joult side the white house last night. >> many of those taking part lost families to gun violence. they're pushing for tougher gun laws and demanding action. >> no question. up next, outside reactions

to the tragedy. >> heart felt moments at nfl games and across the nation. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] when ziggy the cat appeared at their door, he opened up jake's very private world. at first, jake's family thought they saved ziggy, but his connection with jake has been a lifesaver. for a love this strong, his family only feeds him iams. compared to other leading brands, it has 50% more animal protein... ...to help keep ziggy's body as strong as a love that reaches further than anyone's words. iams. keep love strong. and with my bankamericard cash rewards credit card, i love 'em even more. i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% back on... [ toy robot sounds ] 2% on pumpkin pie. and apple. 3% back on 4 trips to the airport. it's as easy as... -[ man ] 1... -[ woman ] 2...

[ woman ] 3. [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer. visit fastreliefchallenge.com he is a good little monkey and always very curious. one day george got an important letter. he's built a rocket ship to travel into space." google, how far is earth to the moon? the moon is 238,900 miles... "the great moment had come." 3, 2, 1... [ giggling ]

♪ welcome back. we adjust our usual "pulse" segment this morning for some reactions to the connecticut massacre. there were moments of silence at every nfl game yesterday. >> last night, before the 49ers-pats game, massachusetts set off 26 flares, one for each of the victims. the giants wore the letters s.h.e.s. on their helmets,

representing sandy hook elementary school. victor cruz remembered victim jack pinto. >> it was motion nal. i was fighting back tears. it felt good to honor a family going through so much. >> cruz called the family after he learns that he was their boy's favorite player. the parents plan to bury little jack in one of cruz's number 80 jerseys. also over the weekend, a unique and stirring opening to "saturday night live." ♪ silent night holy night all is calm ♪ >> those were members of the new york city children's chorus, singing the classic, "silent night." they sung the whole song for the open of the show and said the traditional, live from new york, it's saturday night. >> the cover of "the connecticut

post," the headline, now, teach them well. taking on the president's message saying, look, the legacy of society is how we take care of our children. >> this one from "the new york post," enough. really discussing the president's plea that we just can't tolerate this anymore. >> speaking for the country there. enough is enough. we'll be back with more after this. ladies! oks good jack! come on, stop the car. jack! no, no, no, no, no! the only thing more surprising than finding the perfect gifts.. niice. ...is where you find them. how did you know? i had a little help. this is how to gift. this is sears. [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette you celebrate a little win. nicorette gum helps calm your cravings and makes you less irritable. quit one cigarette at a time.

i get congested. but now, with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breath freer, so i can love the air. [ male announcer ] zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. up next, remembering the victims of sandy. president obama honors each of the victims at a memorial while the first funeral gets underway this morning. >> i'm mike nicco, tracking light rain and big storm on the way in the accu seven day forecast. >> and talk about price squeeze. a man spent his night in a

chimney in san francisco. join us com and videos taken from his home will reveal the motive. finally this morning, an outpouring of grief and support in the face of senseless violence. >> the people of newtown, connecticut, have banded together since the shooting and other americans are so moved by the tragedy, they're finding their own way to lend a hand. once again, here's abc's lara spencer. ♪ >> reporter: on a cold, crisp, new england night, residents gathered at makeshift memorials all over town, trying to make sense of the impossible. >> i'm just waiting to wake up from this nightmare. >> reporter: they were joined by hundreds of strangers who traveled far and wide trying to help. why did you need to be here? >> i'm a mother. i'm a mother. >> reporter: a mother from new york city. a chaplain from north carolina. how important is it to give back to this community? >> i have grandsons exactly the same age of the victims.

my heart was -- i just was moved. >> reporter: this fire house is now the site of 26 christmas trees, one for each soul taken at sandy hook school. each one donated by a woman from north carolina, and nestled with teddy bears. how is christmas going to be? >> um -- it's not going to feel like christmas. i think, you know, it's important to keep things as normal as possible for everyone. it's about giving. and loving. and kindness. >> reporter: random acts of kindness abound. take michael, offering up his bulldog for free hugs at a local coffee shop. amanda is a grief counselor who lives an hour away. she's donating time to those here who need her most. >> i feel like my heart has been lifted by the good coming in from across the country and across the world. a truly incredible experience. >> thanks to lara spencer for that.

and today, we launch a conversation here at abc news, on every one of our programs, and at abcnews.com. >> starting on "gma," we'll open up a dialogue about guns and mental illness and what can be done to stop the violence. tragedy at sandy hook, the search f its monday morning, 4:30. thanks for joining us. i'm kristen sze. >> i'm eric thomas. light rain but it could be problem for the morning commute. >> we do have slick streets out there. no matter where you do not see radar, it did rain during the overnight hours. best returns are coming from over on the east bay, the peninsula down into the south bay, around the santa cruz mountains. you can see right where 580